The invention relates to secure storage of high value items.
There are many situations in which large numbers of high value items must be securely stored. For example, pawn shops often need to store jewelry or other high value items. In a typical pawn shop transaction, a customer obtains a loan from the pawn shop based on the commercial value of an item that the customer leaves with the pawn shop as collateral. Often, the commercial value of an item may be significantly less than the value that the customer associates with the item. For example, a piece of jewelry or a watch that has been passed down through several generations of a family may have substantially more sentimental or emotional value than the actual commercial value of the item.
In general, when a pawn shop customer leaves a piece of jewelry or some other high value item as collateral, a pawn shop employee records the customer""s name or other identifying information on an envelope and places the item in the envelope. The employee then places the envelope in a safe located on the premises of the pawn shop. When the customer repays the pawn loan, the item is retrieved from the safe and returned to the customer. If the customer fails to repay the pawn loan, the item becomes the property of the pawn shop and is retrieved from the safe and offered for sale by the pawn shop. Typically, small-volume, high-value items, such as rings and other jewelry, that are being offered for sale are displayed in a display case.
For many years, pawn shops have been victimized by so-called xe2x80x9csmash-and-grabxe2x80x9d robberies in which a group of thieves enters the premises of the pawn shop, smashes the display case, and grabs whatever jewelry or other items that are within reach. Typically, these robberies are over within only a few minutes, and before police are able to respond to alarms or calls for assistance.
More recently, smash-and-grab thieves have learned of the safes in which pawn shops keep the jewelry and other items that have been left as loan collateral. The thieves have used threats of physical violence or other means to force pawn shop employees to give the thieves access to the safes. This has resulted in a tremendous increase in the losses associated with smash-and-grab robberies. In addition, because a customer may consider an item to be irreplaceable, it may be difficult or impossible to compensate the customer for loss of the item.
The invention provides secure storage of items such as jewelry. In one aspect, generally, the invention features securely storing and retrieving items using a storage unit, such as a modified vending machine, having separate compartments. A storage code is provided to the storage unit, and the storage unit responds by permitting access to a particular compartment while preventing access to other compartments so that an item may be placed in the particular compartment. At a later time, a retrieval code is provided to the storage unit, and the storage unit responds by permitting access to the particular compartment while preventing access to other compartments so that the item may be retrieved from the particular compartment. By limiting access to only one compartment at a time, the invention limits the ability of thieves to steal a large quantity of jewelry or other high value items in a short period of time.
Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The storage code may be a compartment identifier and the storage unit may be configured to permit access to a compartment associated with the compartment identifier. The storage code also may include an access code and the storage unit may be configured to prevent access to all compartments when an incorrect access code is provided. The storage code and the retrieval code may be a common compartment code, such as a compartment or item identifier. In general, a compartment, contents of the compartment, and identifying characteristics of the compartment, such as a compartment code, are not visible from an exterior of the storage unit when access to the compartment is not permitted.
The storage code may be a transaction identifier, and the storage unit may be configured to select an available compartment to which access is to be permitted. When each compartment is configured to store multiple items in, for example, a bin, the storage unit may be configured to select a compartment storing a smaller number of items than other compartments. Similarly, the storage unit may be configured to select a compartment storing a smaller value of items than other compartments.
The storage unit may include a security screen, such as a sheet of steel, covering the front of the storage unit and positioned to conceal the storage compartments and their contents. The security screen will limit access to the storage compartments and thereby increase the difficulty of stealing items contained within the storage compartment.
The storage unit also may be configured to insert delays between access to different compartments. For example, the storage unit may be configured to use delays to permit access to only one compartment each minute, only two compartments each five minutes, and only three compartments each fifteen minutes. The storage unit may insert delays by initiating a timer after permitting access to a storage compartment, and waiting for the timer to expire before permitting access to an additional storage compartment. The use of delays will further limit the ability of thieves to quickly steal large numbers of items.
The storage unit may be located in a lockable safe that may be closed to provide further security. The storage unit also may be secured to an interior surface of the safe. For example, the safe may include an extension, such as a bolt, that extends from the interior surface of the safe and through an exterior surface of the storage unit to secure the storage unit within the safe.